GlobalPostA reported meteorite strike in Latvia turned out to be a publicity stunt by a telecommunications company, who are now facing some awkward questions from the ...

Latvia experts call meteorite crater a hoaxMarin Independent Journal Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:11 AM PDT Scientists investigating a large crater initially believed to have been caused by a meteorite said a closer analysis has revealed it was a hoax. Experts in the Baltic country of Latvia rushed to the site after reports that a meteoritelike object had crashed Oct. 25 in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

My own musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn - Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage taken from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series.

Tele2 in a hole over 'meteor' publicity stuntCNN Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:18 PM PDT An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Mobile operator faces legal action over fake meteoritetelecomasia.net Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:52 PM PDT It must have seemed a good idea at the time, but Swedish cellco Tele2 faces a hefty bill after creating a fake meteorite landing on a Latvian farm. When locals reported lights in the sky on Sunday evening, the Latvian government sent special forces and scientific experts to the scene.

INDONESIAN ASTEROID: Earlier this month, with no warning, a ~10-meter wide asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere above Indonesia and exploded. The break-up was so powerful, it triggered nuclear test ban sensors thousands of kilometers away. A just-released analysis of infrasound data shows that the asteroid detonated with an energy equivalent of about 50 kton of TNT, similar to a small atomic bomb. This significant impact has received relatively little attention in Western press.

>, estimated tohave been around 10 metres (30ft) across, hit the atmosphere at anestimated 45,000mph. The sudden deceleration caused it to heat uprapidly and explode with the force of 50,000 tons of TNT.Luckily, due to the height of the explosion -- estimated at between 15and 20 km (nine to 12 miles) above sea level -- no damage was caused onthe ground.However, if the object had been slightly larger -- 20 to 30 metres (60to 90ft) across -- it could easily have caused extensive damage and lossof life, say researchers.Very few objects smaller than 100 meters (300ft) across have beenspotted and catalogued by astronomers.

> in Cambridge, Massachusetts,warned that it was inevitable that minor asteroids would go unnoticed.He said: "If you want to find the smallest objects you have to buildmore, larger telescopes."A survey that finds all of the 20-metre objects will cost probablymultiple billions of dollars."

On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireballblast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. Theblast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroidabout 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonatedin the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of50,000 pounds of TNT explosives).

The blast was recorded visually and reported upon by local mediarepresentatives. See the YouTube video at:

A report from Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown at the University ofWestern Ontario indicates that several international very-longwavelength infrasound detectors recorded the blast and fixed theposition near the coastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, island ofSulewesi. They note that the blast was in the 10 to 50 kT range with thehigher end of this range being more likely.

Assuming an estimated size of about 5-10 meters in diameter, we wouldexpect a fireball event of this magnitude about once every 2 to 12 yearson average. As a rule, the most common types of stony asteroids wouldnot be expected to cause ground damage unless their diameters were about25 meters in diameter or larger.

A more extensive report by Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown of theUniversity of Western Ontario is here.

Elizabeth Silber and Peter BrownMeteor Infrasound groupDept. of Physics and Astronomy,Univ. of Western OntarioLondon, ONN6A 3K7CANADA

Released: October 19, 2009

On Oct 8, 2009, media reports appeared in the local press in Indonesiaconcerning a loud air blast occurring near 11am local time (0300 UT).Subsequent to these first media reports, additional English languagereports appeared suggesting the event was meteoritic.

Indonesian language reports more clearly identify a bright fireball,accompanied by an explosion and lingering dust cloud as the origin ofthe air blast. Finally, a YouTube video posted on the same day appearsto show a large dust cloud consistent with a bright, daylight fireball.

Based on these initial reports, a detailed examination was made of allInternational Monitoring System (IMS) infrasound stations of theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). From thisinitial examination, a total of 11 stations showed probable signals froma large explosion centered near 4.5S, 120E, with an origin time near0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009, consistent with the media reports. This signalwas notable for having been (a) detected at many IMS stations, includingfive at ranges over 10,000 km (and one at a nearly 18,000 km range) and(b) being confined to very low frequencies. Both of these observationssuggest the explosion source was of very high total energy. All signalmotions were between 0.27 - 0.32 km/s, consistent with stratosphericsignal returns.

We have used the Air Force Technical Application Centre (AFTAC)period-yield relation as described by ReVelle (1997) as the most robustbasic indicator of source energy. To generate measured periods, theaverage periods of all phase-aligned stacked waveforms at each stationwere measured, according to the technique described in Edwards et al(2006). These periods were then averaged to produce a single, globalaverage period of 13.4 sec and the AFTAC yield relation applied; thisproduced an average source yield of 31 kT of TNT. Averaging theindividual yields from all stations produces a mean source energy near50 kT of TNT while using only the eight stations having the highestsignal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and using the local observed periods of thewaveform at maximum amplitude produces a yield estimate of 40 kT of TNT,all of which are basically consistent. It is important to note, however,that the standard deviation of this measurement is nearly 30 kT. Thatis, the best source energy estimate would be 40 +/- 30 kT TNT. Note thatmuch of this variation may be due to the signal emanating from differentportions of the fireball trail as observed at different stations; eachperiod measurement is a "sample" of the size of the cylindrical blastcavity at that particular segment of the trail detected by any onestation. As such, the out of atmosphere yield for this event is likelyhigher than these measurements suggest - very probably in the ~50 kT range.

The yield estimates based on infrasonic amplitude are very uncertain inthis instance as the propagation distances are much larger than istypical and outside the range limits where such relations have beendeveloped (e.g. Edwards et al, 2006) and hence the period relationship(which was generated using a dataset of nuclear explosions having yieldsin this range) is more applicable.

Some examples of the detected and processed waveforms are shown in theappendix.

Based on these infrasound records, it appears that a large (40-50 kTTNT) bolide detonation occurred near 0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009 near thecoastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The infrasonicgeolocation is not precise enough to determine if the bolide was overwater or land, but it was relatively near the coast.

Follow-on observations from other instruments or ground recovery effortswould be very valuable in further refining this unique event.

Using an average impact velocity for NEAs of 20.3 km/s, the energylimits (10 - 70 kT) suggested by this analysis correspond to an object5-10 m in diameter. Based on the flux rate from Brown et al (2002), suchobjects are expected to impact the Earth on average every 2 - 12 years

ReVelle D.O. 1997. Historical Detection of Atmospheric Impacts by LargeBolides using Acoustic-Gravity Waves, Annals of the New York Academy ofSciences, Near-Earth Objects - The United Nations InternationalConference, editor J.L. Remo, New York Academy of Sciences, 822, 284-302.

*Appendix : Example waveform detections.*

In each of the following the infrasound signals across each station havebeen array processed in windows (typically of 30-60 second length) tosearch for coherent signals with consistent back-azimuth measurements.The top panel in each display is the F-statistic, a measure of therelative coherency of the signal across the array elements in anyparticular window (essentially a SNR measure). The second window showsthe apparent trace velocity of the acoustic signal across the array inthe direction of the peak F-stat. Similarly, the third plot shows thebest estimate for the signal back-azimuth in the direction of maximumF-stat for each window. The fourth plot shows the raw pressure signalfor one array element bandpassed according to the chosen Low - Highfrequency combination, shown in the boxes of the lower plot.

[graphic]Signal as detected at IS05AU (Australia) as a range of 5000 km - thegreen area highlights the airwave signal

[graphic]Signal as detected at IS07AU (Australia) from a range of 2300 km.

[graphic]Signal as detected at IS13CL (Easter Island) at 13500 km range showing adistinct signal with a dominant period near 16.5 seconds.

Bright light in sky causes commotion

At 3:07 a.m. Tuesday, McPherson County Communicationsofficers received several reports from citizens and law enforcement officersregarding a large blue light falling from the sky. Dispatchers spoke withSaline and Reno County authorities and were advised thatthey had also received reports of this phenomena.

The National Weather Service in Wichita, wascontacted and they advised they had received a report of this from Lincoln County.

Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3 Scheduled

The University of Khartoum, Faculty of Sciences and Physics Department,and the SETI Institute invite planetary astronomers and meteoriticiststo participate in a workshop dedicated to asteroid 2008 TC3. Asteroid2008 TC3 was the first asteroid to be detected in space and subsequentlyfound to impact the Earth. Fragments were recovered in the Nubian Desertof northern Sudan in the form of rare ureilite meteorites, called"Almahata Sitta".

Goal of the workshop is to discuss the results from ongoing researchinto the properties of asteroid 2008 TC3 when it was still in space, itsnature and origin, the asteroid's impact in Earth's atmosphere, thesubsequent recovery, and the analysis of the recovered meteorites. Talkson the origin of ureilites are invited, as well as discussions on how toadjust observing strategies to increase the likelyhood of futurediscoveries of small asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

By accepting this invitation, researchers will have a chance to examinethe collection of recovered meteorites and discuss how best to proceedwith the investigation of this small asteroid.

The workshop will be held on the days of December 6 and 7, 2009. TheUniversity invites participants to take part in a banquet on the eveningof December 6 [Earliest return flight would be afternoon December 8].

In the week following, from December 8 to 15, there will be a site visitto the area where Almahata Sitta was recovered . An effort will be madeto expand the diversity of recovered materials by finding more of thefallen debris. Participants are asked to bring clothes and strong shoes,suitable for outdoor camping and hiking. The weather can be cold atnight (bring woolen hat). Bring medication for a bad stomach,anti-musquito spray, and sun-screen.

After registration (and sending us your passport pdf), you will receivea letter of invitation from the University and a visa approval numberfrom the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sudan that should help expeditethe visa process. If there are any questions, please feel free tocontact us at: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov

CNN InternationalBy Andrew Ward, The Financial Times An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow ...

Telco admits meteorite hoaxThe New Zealand Herald Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:25 PM PDT RIGA - A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all costs spent by police, rescue and military workers in the incident.Vita...

Tele2 to pay up for publicity stuntFinancial Times Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:18 PM PDT An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Alleged Latvia Meteorite A HoaxredOrbit Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:08 AM PDT Yesterday it was purported to be the site of a meteorite crash, but today a telephone company admitted it was a hoax.Firefighters rushed to a farm near the northern town of Mazsalaca at 5:30 p.m.

BLAST OVER BONE WATERS RESULT OF FALLING METEORITE, SAYS EXPERTBernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:30 AM PDTJAKARTA, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- After a three-week investigation, astronomers at the Indonesian National Aeronautics and Space Agency concluded that an air explosion over Bone waters in South Sulawesi on Oct 8 was the result of a falling meteorite.

The Tech HeraldWhat a real meteor crater generally looks like. Image: kevinzim/Flickr. More pointedly, scientists descending on the town of Mazsalaca in Latvia to examine ... See all stories on this topic

New York TimesBy AP RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged Tuesday it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse ... See all stories on this topic

Pocket-lint.comWith the new handset, the Grand 350 Pioneer, Mobiado is paying homage to NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft and it boasts the "compelling beauty of meteorite". ... See all stories on this topic

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